In recent days, tension has increased in the part of Karabakh, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reports regular ceasefire violations by illegal Armenian armed groups stationed in this territory. What is actually happening in the region and what are the opinions of experts on a possible counter-terrorist operation of Azerbaijan?
According to the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, videos and photographs showing the movement of various equipment belonging to the Azerbaijani army have been circulating on social media in recent days.
“These videos and photos are old footage taken during the Patriotic War [second Karabakh war – JAMnews] and various past exercises.
At present, no redeployment and movement of the Azerbaijani army is carried out.
Discussions on this issue lead to the formation of an erroneous perception among the public, as well as to the disclosure of military and state secrets.
We urge users of social media not to succumb to such provocations, and also not to distribute unconfirmed information”, the defence department noted.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan also issued an official statement:
“In recent days, inaccurate videos, photographs and other information have been circulating in some media and social media platforms, allegedly reflecting the movement and deployment of various equipment belonging to the Azerbaijani army.
Dissemination without clarification with state institutions of such unverified information, audio recordings, photos and videos in order to create artificial excitement is unacceptable and entails criminal liability.
The General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan warns the media and users of social media that measures will be taken against those who have committed these negative actions in accordance with the requirements of the current legislation”, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.
“This is coercion to comply with the terms of the tripartite statement”
According to military observer Adalat Verdiev, more than 16 months have passed since the signing of the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020, and during this time Armenia has not fulfilled its main obligations under this document:
“In this regard, counter-terrorism activities, as well as military-political pressure from Baku, look normal.
From the territory, which, according to all international laws, belongs to Azerbaijan, they shoot at the soldiers of the Azerbaijani army. Such actions cannot go unanswered.
In recent days, ceasefire violations have become regular, and there are also signals that the new commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh is supporting illegal Armenian gangs in this territory in every possible way.
With the help of the `Russian peacekeepers, the Armenian armed forces are digging trenches and creating engineering structures along the perimeter of this part of Karabakh. A reasonable question arises – who are they going to fight against? Instead of leaving the Azerbaijani lands, the Armenian gangs are carrying out preparatory work for some kind of military action.
If the peacekeepers do not cope with their tasks, then the Azerbaijani army can take over these tasks. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces, if necessary, can use all available means to expel illegal armed gangs from its territory.
I would call the possible actions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in this region nothing else than forcing the Armenian armed forces to fulfill their obligations under the tripartite statement”, Verdiyev said.
“The gas pipeline from Armenia to Khankendi is illegal”
“The most suitable conditions have now arisen for Azerbaijan to conduct a counter-terrorist operation. Russia is busy with the war in Ukraine, and it will be too problematic for it to carry out any military actions in another direction”, said Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas analytical center.
“In addition, on February 22, Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of alliance with Russia. That document points to the mutual assistance of countries in the fight against extremism and separatism. If Russia wishes to fulfil this point of the memorandum, then it should help Azerbaijan to expel Armenian separatists from its territory – namely the illegal gangs in Karabakh.
Also, the other day, President Ilham Aliyev held 4-hour talks with President Erdogan in Ankara. I have no doubt that one of the main points of the negotiations was the issue of security in Karabakh.
Azerbaijan also has good relations with Iran. This is evidenced by the signing of a memorandum on the construction of a road to Nakhichevan through the territory of this country.
As for Europe and the West in general, in the realities of recent days, Azerbaijan has received a great chance to become one of the main suppliers of natural gas to the EU countries. The infrastructure for this already exists.
The only factor hindering Azerbaijan is the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh.
In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about a rupture in the gas pipeline from Armenia to Khankendi, but this gas pipeline itself is illegal. If Karabakh is Azerbaijan, then the gasification of this territory should be carried out by Azerbaijan, the population of Khankendi should become customers of Azerbaijani gas companies”, Shahinoglu said.
